A New Perspective
by J.L.Hawk
Summary: Starts in the 10 day period between "Infiltrator" and "Denial", and continues through Season 1. John Hunter knows how fight for himself, how to survive. But being on a team and depending on others? He'll need more than a few gadgets and a sarcastic attitude to overcome that obstacle. Oh, then there's all the sorcerers, psychics, scumbags, and mutants The Light can throw at him.
1. Running from-

**Disclaimer: I do not own DC, Justice League, Young Justice or any of its characters. I'm just one of many fans. Nor do I own any franchises I might** **mention.**

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**STAR CITY**

**August 11, 23:41 PDT**

John Hunter was running. Now that he thought about it, he did that a lot. Whether it was because he was afraid, angry, or just exercising, John ran a lot. It made sense, he thought as he ran across a rooftop. Running's a good problem solver, or rather problem avoider. Stuff happens to him that usually warrants running, things that are not the easiest sort of things to handle. They were the sort of problems that needed power to solve. And not power, like lifting a car. But power that meant you were capable. That meant someone could depend on you. Power like the ones chasing him had.

He vaulted across a gap between rooftops above an alley way._ This doesn't seem to be a fair game_, he thought as he barely managed to avoid being hit by a flying arrow by rolling after his landing. He was pretty tired at this point. His t-shirt stuck to his back from the sweat. He'd been running for almost an hour, and more than once, he had to endure a beating while trying to pretend he could fight. He knew he had to get off the roof tops to get away, so he looked for a route to take to the ground. His eyes found a fire escape on the building across another alley. The other building was taller and further away than the previous jump, so jumping to its roof was a non option.

But maybe he could jump and find a hold on the fire escape and then climb down to the alley where it might be a little easier to lose these guys. He didn't really have time to debate it in his head as one of them came gliding down from the afore-mentioned tall building. It was at this point John decided he was screwed. He'd heard about this one, heard about some of the damage he'd done to people, physically and psychologically. Granted, not nice people, but considering he might not find John to be the nicest of people, still worth fearing. It didn't even make sense. This one was usually in Gotham. John did not like how much attention these guys were giving him.

He looked around desperately for an option, an escape, a distraction, anything. His eyes found a sag in the roof just to his right. The building he was standing on was old, condemned. Maybe that sag would give away with the right amount of force? It was slim at best. Not exactly a master strategy, not to mention dangerous, but it would have to do as Tall, Dark and Terrifying had just landed in front of him. John dashed for the sag, slamming down on it just off-center with the heel of his foot. The sag turned into a hole and John went down like a missed Wack-a-Mole. Luckily it was only about an eight feet drop. Unluckily he landed badly on his right foot then fell to his back.

John lay there for a moment, surprised his plan had worked at all. He quickly realized that he was a sitting duck at the bottom of this hole with a wounded leg and made to get up and continue running. After uttering a few curses a kid his age shouldn't be familiar with he had managed to stand up. He actually got to his feet surprisingly fast, considering the fall and the pain in his leg. He saw a door to his left and limped his way there as fast as his leg would allow. John pushed the door open as he coughed the last of the dust from his lungs.

The door led to an old apartment hall. He had just come from what must have once been someone's living room. He soon found the stairs and started scrambling down them two at a time, trying to ignore the pain in his leg. The building was only about 5 stories, so it didn't take long to hit ground level. He jumped the last three steps and landed with a grunt. He straightened up and quickly scanned his surrounding. He was in a deserted lobby. After dismissing the notion of running out the front, he began searching for a back exit. His eyes found a back hall behind the front counter. Not wanting to waste any time John mantled the counter and bolted down the hall. As he approached the door he began to hope. Was he actually going to get away? He rammed his shoulder at full speed into the door and came out into a dark and dingy alley.

Where all three of them had him cornered. That was it. Game over. He decided to keep some dignity and stop running. There was no point. They had won. He just stood there panting, waiting for one of them to grab him and haul him off. The tallest and by far the most frightening one was the first to say anything. "Not bad."

_Uh, what? Did he just say "Not bad"?_ The other man had a goatee and was dressed in green with a quiver of arrows strapped to his back. He was second to speak. "I almost had you when you landed up there but you managed to avoid me…again." He was smiling, almost laughing. As if he had just played a spirited game of tennis with an old friend. The third was a woman with blond hair and a blue jacket, and while she wasn't quite as cheery as the second, she too was smiling. "Probably not the most ideal strategy, falling through the floor," said the woman, as if she was judging an opponent's move in a game of chess, "but unanticipated and effective nonetheless."

_What the heck is going on? Why haven't they arrested me yet?_ "You think with some training he could be an effective member?" asked Green Arrow. "I think he'll be more than effective, especially considering that "trick" of his." answered Black Canary_. What are they talking about? It can't be about community service or falling through the floor and my "trick" wouldn't matter._ "Now the real question is will he want to?" asked Green Arrow.

"I think he will" said Black Canary.

"How about you explain the situation and ask him rather than pretending he isn't here?" said John. That's when the tall dark one stepped forward. John stifled a gulp. He was pretty sure he'd crossed a line and was now in even more trouble.

"Fair enough. We've been watching you. We want to offer you a chance" said Batman.

"What kind of chance?" asked John.

"One where you won't have to keep running."

John thought about it. He could either hear them out or go to jail. They might not take him today, but if not them, someone else will. He'll get caught eventually. One day. He was tired of running. "I'm listening".


	2. Decisions and Flashbangs

**STAR CITY**

**August 12, 00:03 PDT**

John was in a daze. He was barely aware of anything that was happening around him. It was like everything was happening through a fog. His mind tried to make sense of how he could have gotten here. He could hear Batman explaining that they had a team of sidekicks John's age. How they've been watching and gauging his capabilities for weeks. That didn't mean he believed it.

He also said that they weren't chasing him to arrest him, but to test him and see what he could do firsthand. When they attacked, it wasn't to harm, but to gauge his capabilities. John was only sort of aware of Black Canary saying, on the two occasions that she had him trapped and he tried to fight his way to a place where he could keep running, she was impressed by his abilities. John didn't recall feeling impressive. More like desperate, terrified, and clumsy. But apparently it looked better than it felt and Batman said that, if John wanted, he could have a place on the team.

That's when the fog lifted. John couldn't believe it. That they wanted him on the same team as THE Robin and THE Kid-Flash was nothing short of amazing. But John still hesitated. This sounded big. Bigger than taking down a few street thugs. Like, people depending on you and expecting you to do the same. It sounded like the kind of thing John would screw up. Green Arrow seemed to sense his hesitation and said that he didn't have to decide right then. He then handed John a communicator and said that he could use it to reach him when he made his choice.

John made his way home that night with a head full of swirling and conflicting thoughts. He wanted to make a difference and it sounded like this was a little more efficient than beating up store robbers. On the other hand he would be making a difference with six other heroes. Heroes who actually deserved to be called "heroes". It wasn't that John was worried they wouldn't like him. He was actually worried that they would hate him. What right did he have to join their team? What has he done to earn his place?

He eventually found his "home". An old abandoned apartment that was only accessible through the window thanks to the broken piano and dresser in front of the door. John liked how simple it was. No high security, just hard to get to. The window was too high to reach without a particularly high ladder. John was on a building across the alley. It was nice to have a gap and not need to jump it considering the night's earlier activities. John got the large piece of plywood he kept stashed behind an air conditioner unit and used it to bridge the gap. He carefully made his way across his bridge and into his tiny, square apartment. It wasn't great, but it served his purposes.

There were some old clothes in the dresser directly across from the window. They were mostly giveaways so they were ragged and ugly, but at least they were comfortable. To his right, he had an extremely worn out punching bag hanging precariously from a hook in the ceiling. He did have a small fridge in the far right corner, wedged between the broken piano and the wall. Not that it worked, but it was as good a place as any to keep his dried and canned foods. On top of the fridge, he had a large box of bottled water. The mattress in the far left corner still had good springs, so he usually slept all right. He had a feeling he wasn't going to sleep well tonight though. He walked over to the mattress and collapsed on it without taking off his shoes. He tried to sleep, but it wasn't easy. It was like trying to sleep through a loud party. Too much was going on, too much noise. Unlike a party, he couldn't escape the noise in his head.

He and sleep eventually found each other, but sleep wasn't kind enough to stick around. By the time morning came, he had only managed to get a few hours sleep. After getting a water bottle and eating a cold soup from the can, he went out his window. After stowing his plywood bridge, he set out. Throughout the rest of the day he tried to carry out business as usual, patrol around the seedier parts of town, and maybe stop a drug store break-in or two. But Star City decided to pick today to be perfectly safe and uneventful. When he did come across a minor crime (some poor guy's taco stand being held up), his head wasn't in the game anyway. It took him a full minute and a half to take out a moron with a baseball bat.

He eventually decided to call it a day, and head home. He walked back across his bridge and stood in his home. He took a good look around and sighed. Not much to do when there are no trouble-making gangsters to beat up or super powered gun smugglers to investigate. He decided to get some exercise and started with some push-ups. As he pushed through his exercises, he thought back a month ago, to that little venture with the gun smugglers, and the first and only time he had ever worked with anyone.

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**STAR CITY**

**July 15, 19:12 PDT**

The sun was setting over a large labyrinth of a shipping yard. Shipping containers were everywhere and that meant lots of cover and multiple levels to use for escape, should it be necessary. It wasn't looking like it would be though. John had just opened the last shipping container, marked for receiving. "Danm it! Another dead end." said John. He had been tracking these smugglers for weeks and he still couldn't find their operation. They had to be getting them from the docks, but Star City had quite a lot of docks. And boats. And containers. And John felt like he'd searched them all.

"They must be switching the guns out into different containers regularly." muttered John as he slammed the door of the empty container he was so sure was going to be filled to the brim with high powered energy weapons. He had shown up here tonight, scouted the area, and gone to take a closer look because he was so certain he had them. It was so perfect, he'd even prepared for a fight. Or at least a trap, or something. But to find nothing and be right back where he started?! John sighed. Well maybe not all the way back where he started. He did know how they were shipping (a couple of connections at the docks), and he did know exactly what they were shipping. Heck that was what got him sucked into this.

He'd been taking out a few thugs who were harassing some woman. Everything seemed normal, he'd taken care of the first two without a hitch, but then the third pulled out a funny looking gun and nearly vaporized him. Luckily the guy was a lousy shot, and missed the first two shots. John looked around in a half second of confused panic. As soon as he figured out where the explosive beams of death were coming from, he turned and somersaulted to the side to avoid another blast. He knew he couldn't close the distance between them before having his face melted off, Raiders style, so he resorted to his trick and knocked the gunman into the wall behind him, knocking him out.

John lowered his hands and took a second to regain his strength. Using his power always left him a little drained. After a few deep breathes he walked over to the unconscious gunman and picked up his weapon. Low life crooks like this didn't usually have access to high-tech weaponry. That started a very frustrating two week long investigation. For every bribed bodyguard, there was a dead end. For every eavesdropped conversation between thugs, there was an empty crate. Every time he thought he'd found them they'd managed to slip through his fingers.

A sudden noise brought John back to the shipping yards and his surroundings. He quickly scanned the area. Nothing. He listened intently. Quiet and peaceful. He was just about to dismiss the sound and leave when he heard what sounded like an arrow whizzing through the air. John instinctively jerked to his right and dove behind a shipping container, thanking his enhanced reflexes, just as a large net expanded from an arrow right where he was a moment ago. Hooray, a trap! Maybe this meant he was actually getting somewhere. John took a quick glance around the corner to identify his attempted captor and caught a glimpse of someone up on top of some containers a good eighty yards away.

John didn't get much of a good look as the attacker had fired another arrow and ran behind some containers. John ducked back behind his container in time for the arrow to imbed itself into the ground next to him. Just as John was about to work out a plan to bring out the stranger, he got an ear full of pain and a face full of light. The arrow wasn't meant to hit him, but to carry a flash bang right to him. It worked. John fell back in pain and surprise, trying in vain to blink away his new world of ringing and white, but it was useless. He was helpless and blind.

He tried to stumble to safety, but it was slow going and for all he knew he was stumbling right out of cover and into his attacker's sights. He found a container with his hand and followed it to what he hoped was a protected area. As his vision started to slowly go from blazing white to slightly less blazing white, he hoped he had lost his attacker. Of course, he was then knocked to the ground by a painful impact to the side of his face. No doubt another arrow, this time with a blunt tip. John lay crumpled for a moment. It was around now that his vision finally recovered enough to see, though it was blurry and spotty.

But it was enough to see a man walking toward him with a bow and arrow aimed first at him, and then everywhere else as the archer scanned his surroundings. John slowly sat up and leaned his pained head against a container. Through his hazy vision, John saw he wore a red tunic with a quiver of arrows strapped to his back. _Aw, crap, that's not good_ thought John. Green Arrow's sidekick was looking around, checking his back, scanning the area. As if he seemed to be sharing John's thoughts. Where is this guy's backup? Just as the ringing in John's ears started to subside, the sidekick known as Speedy came up to John and said, rather forcefully, "Where are you lowlifes keeping the guns?"

It took John few seconds to realize what the archer was asking. When he figured it out he mentally sighed. Neither the Justice League, nor Green Arrow had connected him to his previous mistakes, they hadn't gotten tired of his pitiful attempt to atone for said mistakes by fighting crime, and they weren't there to arrest him. This guy was here for the same reason John was, to investigate and hopefully shut down the smuggling operation. John was so relieved he almost forgot that there was an angry archer standing over him, waiting for an answer. This seemed to be a case of mistaken identity. John didn't exactly look like a hero, with his tattered jeans, old sneakers, and black coat over a grey t-shirt. John really couldn't blame the sidekick for thinking he was a crook.

"I'm not a smuggler," said John, deciding the truth, or at least most of it, was the best option. "I'm here for the same reason you are."

Speedy eyes flashed with suspicion and confusion. He seemed to be deciding whether to trust him, run, or fight. "And why do you think I'm here?"

"To investigate the energy weapons being smuggled into the city?" said John in a somewhat hopeful voice. If he was wrong, he'd have a little bit more explaining to do.

"How'd you know they were energy weapons?" said Speedy.

"I saw them on the home shopping channel," said John sarcastically. John had recovered enough to stand, but he stayed on the ground just in case the trigger happy (wait, that doesn't sound right, soo…"string-happy"?) sidekick was not amused. Judging by the expression of confusion, followed by angry annoyance on Speedy's face, he made the right call.

"It's because I nearly got microwaved like a frozen dinner by one two weeks ago. These guys don't like me either!" That seemed to abate his annoyance, and replace it with curiosity.

"I don't recognize you. Are you new to the hero game?"

"Not quite, just not a big name." It seemed to be a little safer, now that the sidekick had calm down a bit, so John slowly got to his feet.

It was then that Speedy seemed to realize he had just finished beating the snot out of John, someone who wasn't a thug. Speedy looked as if he was trying to figure out the best way to apologize, but John decided to spare him.

"It's fine. I don't exactly look the part," said John, gesturing to his tattered clothes. "And besides I-"

Speedy cut him off. "No it was my fault. I should have determined your identity before attempting capture." It was weird; he looked almost regretful… in an angry sort of way. "That's the sort of mistake my old partner would have stopped me from making."

John took a moment to process this new information. Was Speedy saying he wasn't Green Arrow's sidekick anymore? Had he been fired? Did he quit? John wanted to ask, but decided not to pry. Speedy was a capable hero, more capable than John. He didn't need some nobody questioning him. John decided to change the subject.

"Well, if you managed to take me down, I deserved it." John realized only after speaking how arrogant that sounded. "What I mean is, I'm a pretty hard target to get the drop on. Uh, I mean I've got pretty fast reflexes, so if you hit me, good job." Still sounded arrogant, but John knew if he opened his mouth again, he would just make it worse. Speedy seemed to mostly understand what John was trying to say and nodded. _Man, I really am horrible at compliments and talking about my powers. And really just talking to people in general. At least about anything normal._ So John went with stuff he knew how to talk about. Guns and thugs.

"So I'm guessing you're after the smugglers?" said John, in a far more comfortable tone. This was his element. He understood bad guys, and he knew Speedy did too. No guessing, no wondering how you're being heard. Just knowledge and tactics.

"Yeah, I heard Brick and his gang were smuggling something nastier than just guns. I got a tip that they were filling containers with crates of whatever, and using a couple bribed officials to ship it into the docks."

"'Brick'? Who's that?" asked John.

"A meta-human crime boss, runs a street gang. Nothing too notable, mostly hired guns and extortion. Now it seems he found a new hobby in smuggling."

"And what's a meta-human?" asked John. He never liked being ignorant of things, so he asked questions. Whenever he got the chance, and someone knew something he considered worth knowing, he would question them till they ran. Good thing most people don't talk about a lot of stuff that interests John, or he'd annoy everyone he met. Anyway, Speedy didn't seem to mind, so John wanted to gain all the knowledge he could.

"Someone with a natural superpower." answered Speedy, "In Brick's case, super strength and endurance, which doesn't go well with his temper or his overconfidence."

"You seem to know a lot about this guy." said John as he filed away what Speedy had said about natural power in his minds file cabinet.

"We've-", Speedy stopped, and seemed to be making an internal decision. "_I've _tangled with him on more than one occasion, and I've been screwing with his little smuggling operation for the past week. I could never catch them red handed though."

"Sounds like you've been having the luck I've been having. I've been trying to nail these guys for two weeks, and I still got nothing. At least you know who the boss is."

"I didn't know what he was smuggling though."

"All I did was get shot at by some creep. If he had had aim like you, I wouldn't be here."

"Well anyway, I should probably go. Sorry for blinding you and shooting you like a dear." said Speedy with a smirk.

"A dear? Really?"

Speedy chuckled and turned to leave. Then John got an idea. He'd never worked with anyone, but since neither of them were having any luck, it was worth a shot.

"You know, since we're both trying to take out the same guy, we could work together. Or at least compare notes."

Speedy turned to face John and said "I just started going solo. Now I meet a guy who wants to be partners."

"I'm not asking you to dinner. Obviously, you'd be the boss, being the more experienced. I just thought you might appreciate some help."

Calling him the boss must have helped, because Speedy smiled and said "Well, all right. I guess I could use a little help."

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**Author's Note:  
Sorry it took so long, but the first chapter was so short, I wanted this one to be a little longer. Now I know Speedy wasn't really a fan of working with others, but keep in mind, that he just started out so he's a little apprehensive and John isn't trying to get in the way or order him around, he just wants to help. **

**For those of you who are wondering, John is a meta human, meaning he's not an alien, victim of a science experiment or a mutant, he just has superpowers, like Black Canary. Season 2 watchers will know exactly what I'm talking about. I'll go into the specifics of exactly what he can do eventually, don't worry. **

**Please Review!  
****I really appreciate constuctive criticism.**


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